Electrical connector



july 2U, 1965 M. SAMS ETAL ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed July 1l, 1962 M. SAMS ETAL ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR July 26, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July ll, 1962 INVENTORJS HART/N JANS HERMA/V P510/MN dex-fused' BY y JSA/v ffzonAA/Alwhlk'm United States Patent O 3,196,379 ELECTRCAL CGNNECTGR Martin Seins, 93@ NE. 90th St., Miami Beach, Fla., and Herman Feldman, deceased, late or Miami beach, Fla., by dean Feldman, adminishntrix, Miami Beach, Ela. Eied Euly 1l, i962, Ser. No. 2ll9,273 3 Claims. (Ci. 339-190) This invention relates to an electrical connector.

The prime object of the present invention relates to the provision of an improved electrical connector employing principles disclosed in Patent No. 2,675,531, to Martin Sams and Herman Feldman, granted April 13, 1954, and the patent to Saul P. Lippel, No. 2,959,763, granted November 8, 196).

This type of electrical connector comprises a body containing contact prongs, which form part of the contact terminals of the connector and to which the wires of a duplex cord are to be connected, the said body being formed internally with channels into and through which a duplex cord, the free end of which is merely out or snipped with a scissors, is moved in such a manner that the exposed wire ends of the duplex cord are forced into the prong contacts for making the necessary electrical circuit connection. The connector thus comprises a unitary element having no movable parts and no securing members (such as binding posts or screws) that require manipulation, attachment of a duplex or multiple Wire cord to the connector being achieved merely by the act of inserting the conductor cord into and through the connector channels, the wires or wire strand of the connector being moved into electrical contact and engagement with the connector prongs. There is thus provided a connector, the use of which eliminates the necessity of stripping the wire, or removing the insulation, or fastening the wire by means such as connecting screws, posts or the like, or of providing movable and manipulable elements for bringing the wires into Contact engagement with prongs as are required in some oi the more modern types of connectors.

In the electrical connectors disclosed in the aforesaid patents, the connector body is formed with two channels or passages, the first a through channel in the body and the second a channel into the inner end of which extend prong contacts, the construction being such that the connector is adapted to receive an insulated wire conductor cord, such as a duplex cord, by moving the cord, with its leading cut or snipped end, through the lirst channel and thence with a loop bend formed in the cord through the second channel for electrical circuit engagement of the cord conductor ends with the prong contacts. In these patented connectors, the lirst mentioned channel is produced with a reverse bend, the initial or entrant end of this channel being for this purpose arranged obliquely to the direction of the second channel, it having been found that it was necessary for the cord section lodged in this first channel to have a reverse bend an S-bend) in order to prevent or minimize loss of electrical contact under a pull-out strain. It has been found, however, that with this construction, under strong pull-out forces exerted on the exposed cord, the cord will creep after loosening of the contact, with the ultimate result of loss of contact. Another diiiiculty incident to the patented connector of the second mentioned patent has been that conductor cords which may be described as on the skimpy side sometimes fail to malte the initial contact.

it has now been found that with the reconstruction of the connector in accordance with the present invention, these diiculties are eliminated, principally that the conductor cord even under strong pullaout forces will hold without loss of contact, and the initial contact will be made with the connector prongs for cords of diferent gauge, even those classed as skimpy in size. It has also been lgbb Patented July 29, i965 found that with the reconstructed connector of the present invention, the connector is better adapted to the making of cube tap connectors, and that the connector body structure is also better adapted for molding techniques.

These improvements are accomplished by arranging the channels in the connector body in parallelism, by spacing lne channels in close proximity and in open relation to each other along their mutual or cla-extensive lengths and by providing oppositely spaced ridges in the connector body projecting into the space between said channels, said ridges acting or serving as guides for guiding the conductor cord in its movement through the channels.

in the accomplishment ofthe foregoing objects and such other objects as may hereinafter appear, our invention relates to the electrical connector as sought to be delined in the appended claims taken together with the following description oi the invention and the accompanying drawings thereof, in which FGURE 1 is a perspective view of a cube tap electrical connector embodying the structure oi the invention;

FG. 2 is an exploded view of the parts of the cube tap connector of FlG. l with parts broken away to show the interior construction thereof;

Fifi. 3 is a fragmentary view drawn to an enlarged scale with parts broken away and parts shown in cross-section of the front half section of the connector depicted in HG. 1;

PEG. 4 is a fragmentary View shown on an enlarged scale with parts shown in section taken generally in the plane of the line 4 4 of the connector section half of FlG. 2 of the drawings, FIG. 4 depicting the irst stage of the insertion of a conductor cord into said section of the connector;

PEG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 and depicting a subsequent stage in the insertion of the conductor cord;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FlGS. 4 and 5 depicting a further and linal stage of the insertion of the connector cord into the said section of the connector; and

FIG. 7 is a view taken in cross-section in the plane of the line 7 7 of FlG. 6.

Referring now more in detail to the drawings and having reference first to FiGS. l and 2 thereof, the principles of the electrical connector of our present invention are shown applied to the making of a cube tap receptacle. This cube tap receptacle comprises a connector body generally designated as lill made up of two molded sections of plastic material) l2 and i4 joined together in a plane lo normal or perpendicular to the length of the connector body and substantially midway between the opposite wall ends `i8 and 2l) of the body. The connector is completed by the association with molded body sections l2 and 14 of metallic contact means generally designated as 22 and 24 to be described more in detail hereinafter.

The body sections 12 and ld are molded with the interior configuration as best shown in FIG. 2 ot lthe drawings to provide the various associated cavities therein, and particularly to provide the structure and arrangement of the conductor cord receiving channels above referred to. These channels comprise a ilrst channel C', one part c-l of which is in the body section l2 and the other part c-Z of which is in the body section lo, this channel C extending through the body lll and being open at the opposite end Walls 18 and 2li of the body, and a second channel C2 extending into said body and open only at the body end 2d. The opening of the channel C at the body end wall i8 is designated as 26 and the openings of the channels C and C2 at the body end wall 2t) merge with each other and define the enlarged opening designated as 28. The inner end of the second channel C2 is bifurcated by an integral boss part 3@ of the body formed with two windows or openings 32 and 34, into which are lodged prong contacts 36 and 3S respectively, these prong a contacts forming an integral part of the metallic connector pieces 22 and 24. When the parts shown in FIG. 2 are assembled, the prong contact 36 extends into the window or opening 32 and the prong contact 3S extends into the window or opening 34, these prong contacts thus extending axially into the inner end of the said second channel C2. In connecting a conductor cord, such as the duplex cord 40 to the connector, the leading end of the cord is inserted through the opening 26, is moved through the channel C', and the end thereof emerging from the opening 28 is then given a loop bend of 180, after which the leading end is moved into and through the channel C2 and into electrical engagement with the impinging prongs 36 and 38, as will be further described hereinafter.

Toaccomplish the referred to objects, the two resulting branches of the connector cord formed within the connector have to beV substantially in parallel and spaced in close proximity to each other. Preferably these cord branches should be contigdlous, although they may be separated or spaced slightly from each other. To accomplish this the first and second channels C and C2 are arranged in parallelism, are spaced in close proximity, so close that they are open to each other as clearly shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 of the -drawings along their mutual or cro-extensive lengths. These channels C and C2 are, however, separated by oppositely disposed ridges 42 and 44 in the body which project into the open space between the channels.

The channels C and C2 have a cross-sectional dimension adapted to closely receive the duplex Vconductor cord. The first channel C is preferably somewhat larger in cross-sectional dimensions than the second channel to allow for some loose fitting and easy insertion and passage of the duplex cord therethrough, while the second channel is made to receive the cord with a snug t between the floor of the channel and the ridges 42 and 44 so as to effect a close guiding of the leading end of the cord to the contact prongs. The form or structure of the ridges 42 and 44 isV also of importance. The tops 42 and 44 of these ridges, stepped down in formation (see FIG. 3), act to hold the cord firmly against pull-out stress exerted in the direction of the emergence of the cord, while eliminating a. tendency to lacerate the cord on a strong pull. The ridges are also provided with secondary ridge. portions 422v and 442, surmounting the main body of the ridges, these Vserving as an elongation of the step-down portion of the ridges.

A This kdescribed relationship between the essential elements ofthe connector and the manner of its use in threading the duplex cord into the connector are depicted in FIGS. 4 to 7 of the drawings in connection with the front half section 14 of the connector body. The connector cord` 40 after being moved into the channel part c-l of the connector section 12 (see FIG. 2) is then moved through the channel part c-Z of the body section 14, as depicted in FIG. 4 of the drawings, beingV guided through the channel C rst by the walls of therchannel part c-1 `andthen by the walls of the channel part C42 and the ridges 42 and 44. In the next threading step a 180 loop bend 46.is formed in the duplex conductor as shown in FIG. of the drawings, and the leading end thereof is inserted into and moved through the second channel C2, guided by the walls of this channel and the ridges 42 and 44, the leading end being forced for engagement of the conductor strands of the connector with the prongs 36 (and 38). In the final part ofthe threading step the conductor 40 is pulled in thedirection indicated by the arrow 48 in FIG. 6 of the drawings, which results in the drawing the loop 46 into the opening 2S of the connector and in forcible engagement with the top ends 42' andr44v of the ridges 42 and 44.

Tap contacts for the connector are provided and are formedl integrally with the prong contacts 36 and V3:8. Preferably three sets of such tap contacts are provided for, one set comprising the contacts 5t) and 52, another set being the contacts 54 and 56 and a third set being the contacts 58 and 60. The connector body 10 is formed with plug receiving passages or slots associated with these tap contacts. For the tap contacts 50 and 52 the front section I4 of the body is formed with the plug blade receiving passages 62 and 64 respectively, these passages lying astride the front'body opening 23. For the tap contacts 54 and 56 one side of the connector body is provided withthe passages 66 and 68 (see FIG. l), and for the tap contacts 53 and 60 the opposite side of the connector body is Vprovided with the passages '70 and 72 (see FIG. 2).

The parts of the connector are assembled by inserting the metal conductor pieces 22 and 24 into the body section I4 and by then assembling the body section 12 there-v to. These parts may be secured together in any desired way; and one means for so-securing the same together is provided by the pronged fingers 74, 74 formed integrally with the metal conductor pieces 22 and 24 which take into recesses 76, 76 formed at the corners of the half cubed sections 12 and 14.

The structure and mode of use of our improved electrical connector will be fully apparent from the above deailed descriptioin thereof. With the connector structure of the present invention, the following vresults and accomplishments are therefore achieved (l) The conductor cord'is not required to take a reverse or S-bend in order to hold against pull-out; and the connector does not have to be constructed with differently oriented channels;

(2) The elimination of the reverse bend in the first channel, and the reconstructed channel arrangement, permit a very simple design alternative in which the extending connector cord emerges perpendicularly from an end, such as the back of the connector;

(3) Pull-out and creeping loss of contact tendencies are eliminated, even under strong pull-out forces;

(4) Electrical contact with the prongs is assured even with conductor cords of small or skimpy gauge;

(5) YThe connector lends itself to being easily molded in two sections by simple molding techniques; and

A(6) A- more compact design using less plastic (for amolded unit) and metal is obtained, and one which lends itself efhciently for the making of Va cube tap connector as disclosed. Y

It will be apparent that while we have shown the improved connector of the invention embodied in a cube tap receptacle, the elements thereof may be similarly embodied in other connector types, such as a plug or other form of receptacle connector. It will be further apparentthat changes may be made in the construction thereof without departing from the spirit of the invention defined in the following claims.

We Claim:

1.' An electrical connector comprising a body having opposite end walls, a first channel insaid body extending through said body and open atV the opposite end walls of said body, a second channel extending into said body andopen only at one of said end walls of said body, prongcontacts Vin said body extending axially into the inner end of said second' channel, said channels, of crosssectional dimensions adapted to snugly receive a duplex conductor cord, being arranged in parallelism, spaced in close proximity and being open to each other along their mutual lengths, and oppositely spaced elongated ridges in said body projecting into the open space between said channels, said connector being thereby adapted to receive a duplex conductor cord inserted through said iirst channel. and thence with a degree loop bend through said second channel for electrical circuit engagement with said prong contacts, the said ridges guiding the duplex conductor cord in its movement through said channels, tap contacts, each Yelectrically integral with a prong contact, said tap contacts extending in the same direction as said prong contacts and towards said one of said end Walls, and plug receiving passages for said tap contacts formed in said body at said one of said end walls thereof.

2. The eiectrical connector of claim 1, in which said body is made of two sections joined together in a piane normal to the length of the connector body and between the said opposite end walls of the body.

3. The electrical connector of claim l in which the tap contacts and the plug receiving passages therefor are located astride the said channels.

eerezices by tae Examiner UNETED STATES PATENTS Cook 339-97 Sams et al 339-2100 Odegaard 339-163 Weiss 339-152/ Lippel 339-19() Despard 339-99 10 JOSEPH D. SEERS, Primary Examiner. 

1. AN ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR COMPRISING A BODY HAVING OPPOSITE END WALLS, A FIRST CHANNEL IN SAID BODY EXTENDING THROUGH SAID BODY AND OPEN AT THE OPPOSITE END WALLS OF SAID BODY, A SECOND CHANNEL EXTENDING INTO SAID BODY AND OPEN ONLY AT ONE OF SAID END WALLS OF SAID BODY, PRONG CONTACTS IN SAID BODY EXTENDING AXIALLY INTO THE INNER END OF SAID SECOND CHANNEL, SAID CHANNELS, OF CROSSSECTIONAL DIMENSIONS ADAPTED TO SNUGLY RECEIVE A DUPLEX CONDUCTOR CORD, BEING ARRANGED IN PARALLELISM, SPACED IN CLOSE PROXIMITY AND BEING OPEN TO EACH OTHER ALONG THEIR MUTUAL LENGTHS, AND OPPOSITELY SPACED ELONGATED RIDGES IN SAID BODY PROJECTING INTO THE OPEN SPACE BETWEEN SAID CHANNELS, SAID CONNECTOR BEING THEREBY ADAPTED TO RECEIVE 